The Hidden Fee That's Adding Thousands To Price Of Your New Car

By Ben PopkenMay 12, 2011

You’re not supposed to know about it. It’s a secret fee that dealerships across the country are charging customers, that can add thousands to the cost of their car. KHOU got their hands on insider documents provided to them by a former dealership worker that shows how it works.

It’s called an “acquisition fee,” and it’s a fee that banks charge the dealerships just to approve a loan. The dealerships aren’t supposed to pass it on to customers, but some do anyway. And because the person actually paying the fee, the customer, has no idea it
exists, there’s no pressure to keep the fee competitive at all. It amounts to a hush-hush interest rate jackup that just pours on the gravy for the bank. In one case, it effectively increased the interest rate on the car loan from 18 to 25%.

Yet another reason why it’s best to walk into a dealership with your financing already taken care of with your local bank or credit union, or better yet, watch the car salesman’s head explode and pay in cash.